Tunnel-shovel.



A. W. ROBINSON.

TUNNEL SHOVEL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1910.

1,090,233, Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

1 o I I I l l L l L z I l l I WITNESSES n INVENTOR A. W. ROBINSON.

TUNNEL SHOVEL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1910.

1,090,233. Patented Mar. 17,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ARTHUR W. ROBINSON, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

TUNNEL-SHOVEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 17, 191d.

Application filed September 29, 1910. Serial No. 584,466.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR N. ROBINSON,

of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tunnel- Shovels, of which improvement the following is a specification.

My invention relates to power actuated shovels of the class which are mounted upon a rotatable crane and operated by compressed air for use underground in confined situations, as in excavating in tunnels, etc, and its object is to provide simple and efficient means for supplying air to the engines of the appliance and for effecting its movement in either direction upon a railroad track on which it is designed to traverse.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view, in elevation, of the main portion of a tunnel shovel embodying my invention, the dipper and its connections, which do not relate thereto, not being shown; Fig. 2, a transverse central section; and Fig. 3, a detached view of the gearing and winding drums.

My invention is herein exemplified as applied in a tunnel shovel, the operative members of which are mounted on a truck or carriage, consisting of a supporting frame, 1, carried on two axles, 2, having wheels, 8, fixed thereon, which traverse on ordinary track rails, i. The boom, 5, which supports the dipper, and the engines which effect the different movements required in the operation of the machine, are carried upon a turn table, 6, which is fitted to rotate on a tubular bearing post, 7, projecting vertically from the top of the frame, 1, in its longitudinal central plane. The dipper is raised and lowered as required by a horizontal hoisting engine, 8; a crowding engine, 9, is secured to the dipper boom; and the rotation of the turn table and longitudinal movements of the entire appliance are effected by a double cylinder engine, 10.

Fluid under pressure, which is ordinarily compressed air, is delivered from a supply pipe line to the several engines, through a flexible hose, 11, connected to a supply pipe, 12, which passes through one side of the frame, 1. The pipe, 12, leads into an air reservoir, 13, from which a vertical supply pipe section, 14:, which is connected to the air reservoir by a swivel joint, 1 L, extends through the tubular bearing post, 7, in line axially therewith, and communicates with a horizontal distributing pipe, 15, located on the top of the turn table, from which valve (mntrollcd supply pipes lead, in the ordinary manner, to the several engines. By this construction. a plurality of flexible connections is avoided, and the fluid pressure supply is unaffected by the variations of position of the turn table which are made from time to time to adjust the dipper in proper relation to the material to be excavated, in the progress of the work. i

In revolving cranes or shovels of the ordinary construction, it has been usually the practice to transmit power for moving the appliance along the track, through a vertical shaft, passing down, on the axis of revolution of the turn table, from the top thereof to the lower supporting frame and thence to one of the axles. This transmission is objectionable in view of the cost and complication of the operating parts, and the means provided under my invention, which will now be described, are free from this objection.

A. small winding drum, 1G, is fixed upon a horizontal. shaft, 17, which is ournaled on, and transversely to, the turn table, 6, near its rear end, and is operated by one of the engines of the appliance, in this case, the engine 10. A steel wire rope, 18, is attached to the drum, and, through the rotation of the drum, effects the movement of the entire machine, in either direction desired, in the following manner: The crank shaft, 10, 0f the engine, 10, has mounted loosely upon it, a bevel pinion, 19, and a spur pinion, 20, either of which may, as desired, be caused to rotate with the shaft, by suitable movement of an intermediate clutch, 21. which is fitted to slide on a longitudinal key or feather thereon. When it is desired to rotate the turn table, 6, the clutch, 21, is engaged with the bevel pinion, 19, and the shaft, 10, being rotated by the admission of fluid pressure to the engine, 10, the pinion, 19, engages and rotates a corresponding pinion, 22, fixed on a vertical shaft, 23, which carries a spur pinion, 24L, engaging a corresponding gear, 25, fixed on a vertical shaft, 26. The shaft, 26, carries a spur pinion, 27, by the engagement of which with a corresponding gear, 28, fixed to the top of the frame 1, the turn table is rotated thereon into any desired position.

iVhen it is desired to move the entire machine forward, or to the right in Fig. 1, the turn table then being in such position that the shafts, 10 and 17, stand at right angles to the track rails, the wire rope, 19, is led from the winding drum, 16, around a drum, 16 fixed on the rear axle, as shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 1, and is attached to one of the rails, or to a cross tie, by a hook, or in any other suitable manner. The clutch, 21, is then engaged with the pinion, 20, which engages and rotates a corresponding gear, 29, fixed on the shaft, 17, of the winding drum, 16, thereby moving the machine forward as desired. Upon the completion of the propelling movement, the rope is disconnected from the rail or tie and wound up on the drum, 16, for further use as required. In order to move the machine backward, or to the left in Fig. l, the rope is merely carried to the left, without being passed around the drum, as indicated in dotted lines only in Fig. 1, and. fastened to a rail or tie, and, by the operation of the engine, 10, the machine will be moved to the left.

It will be observed that while the upper portion of the machine, on which the winding drum, 16, is carried, is rotatable on the frame, the drum is available for use in propelling the machine only when its shaft, 17 is substantially at a right angle to the track rails.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In an excavating appliance of the class set forth, the combination of a truck having supporting wheels and axles, a turn table fitted to rotate thereon, an engine mounted on said turn table, a winding drum rotatable about a horizontal axis on said turntable and arranged transversely tothe longitudinal axis of the turn table, gearing for effecting the rotation of the winding drum by the engine, and a drum fixed on an axle of the carriage as a guide for a cable passing from the first stated winding drum, whereby said truck and turn table cannot be moved on the wheels until the axis of the winding drum and axle of the carriage under said drum are parallel, when one end of the winding cable is fixed to the earth and passed over the winding drum and drawn over the drum on the axle.

ARTHUR W. ROBINSON.

Vitnesses VALENTlNE J. R. CrnnsTIAN, FRANCIS E. M. ROBINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. D. (3. 

